He’s a little bit of a one-off. I’ve not seen a player who works the left-hand side off the front man who has the range and vision that he has

QPR boss Mark Hughes

The ex-Tottenham forward has been the stand-out player for QPR this season despite their struggles.

Taarabt, 23, has scored twice already this term after failing to find the net last season.

And Hughes has put his improved performances down to a more mature approach to training than he had under predecessor Neil Warnock.

“I think Adel will tell you that he was probably indulged a little bit too much,” he said.

“He was still a young player but you could understand why because at Championship level he could win games on his own. Coming into the Premier League it’s a different standard and you need to be able to put in the work to be successful.

“He understands that now and I really enjoy working with him.”

Hughes added: “He’s a little bit of a one-off. I’ve not seen a player who works the left-hand side off the front man who has the range and vision that he has.

“You need players in the Premier League who can pick the lock when it’s really tight and we have that in Adel.

“There will be games when things are locked down and you need somebody to do something. We have players like that.” Taarabt was linked with Arsenal this week and could be called up for Morocco in January’s African Nations Cup.

But Hughes is hoping Taarabt can continue his development at Rangers and help establish them as a force in the Premier League.

He said: “The thing with Adel is that he is a talented footballer but I just think at times he didn’t understand how best to use those talents.

“That’s decision-making and it’s an education that you have to go through as a footballer. We forget he’s only 23 because he seems to have been around for a long time but he’s still young.

“We want to help him maximise the talent that he has to enable him to have the career he deserves.”

Rangers go to Stoke today still looking for their first win of the new campaign.

Warnock’s side were victorious there almost a year ago to the day but Hughes has yet to taste victory on his travels and he is determined to put that right this afternoon.

“I keep saying the same things every week but we know what we’re trying to do and we still believe in it,” he said.

“Going to Stoke means you have to be brave in possession and out of possession but I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s such an important game because we can get our fi rst win and also get an away win as well to take two positives. It’s a difficult place to go.

“They’ve established themselves as a Premier League club over the last five years and that’s what we want to try and do as well.”